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City Ballet The Podcast

Arts & Culture Podcasts

Welcome to City Ballet The Podcast, an exploration of New York City Ballet where we'll journey through our history, delve into our new and existing repertory, and reveal insider tidbits. Each season of City Ballet The Podcast features episodes that span three topics: New Combinations hosted by Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan, Hear the Dance hosted by dance educator and former NYCB dancer Silas Farley, and See the Music hosted by Music Director Andrew Litton.

Welcome to City Ballet The Podcast, an exploration of New York City Ballet where we'll journey through our history, delve into our new and existing repertory, and reveal insider tidbits. Each season of City Ballet The Podcast features episodes that span three topics: New Combinations hosted by Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan, Hear the Dance hosted by dance educator and former NYCB dancer Silas Farley, and See the Music hosted by Music Director Andrew Litton.

Location:

United States

Description:

Welcome to City Ballet The Podcast, an exploration of New York City Ballet where we'll journey through our history, delve into our new and existing repertory, and reveal insider tidbits. Each season of City Ballet The Podcast features episodes that span three topics: New Combinations hosted by Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan, Hear the Dance hosted by dance educator and former NYCB dancer Silas Farley, and See the Music hosted by Music Director Andrew Litton.

Twitter:

@nycballet

Language:

English

Contact:

212-870-4226

Episodes

Episode 39: New Combinations: Kyle Abraham

4/5/2021
This season of City Ballet The Podcast continues with a fresh edition of New Combinations. Host and Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan is joined by choreographer Kyle Abraham in the lead up to the premiere of his latest work for NYCB, When We Fell, a dance film choreographed on eight NYCB dancers during a COVID-compliant residency. Abraham describes the benefits of this unique situation, from the increased focus and productivity afforded by quarantining with the dancers, to the...

Duration:00:29:22

Episode 38.2: Hear the Dance: Stravinsky Violin Concerto (Part 2)

3/8/2021
Host Silas Farley and guest Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux’s discussion of the 1972 Stravinsky Festival continues in this second part of a special Hear the Dance episode dedicated to Balanchine’s Stravinsky Violin Concerto. Bonnefoux recalls the excitement of performing in the premiere of this seminal neoclassical work in the same week as a revival of Balanchine’s Orpheus, and the sense of historical tradition and musical pulse at the heart of every Balanchine/Stravinsky ballet. They then talk about...

Duration:00:45:38

Episode 38.1: Hear the Dance: Stravinsky Violin Concerto (Part 1)

3/8/2021
Hear the Dance host and former NYCB dancer Silas Farley is back for the newest two-part episode of City Ballet The Podcast. Farley is joined by former Principal Dancer Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux for a lively discussion of Balanchine’s neoclassical masterpiece, Stravinsky Violin Concerto. In this first half of their conversation, Bonnefoux describes joining the Paris Opera Ballet at the age of 14, achieving the rank of principal dancer at 21, and relinquishing his position there just a year short...

Duration:00:46:48

Episode 37: See the Music: Theme and Variations

3/1/2021
NYCB Music Director Andrew Litton hosts a new See the Music edition of City Ballet The Podcast, exploring the score to Balanchine’s ode to classical dance, Theme and Variations. Set to the final, eponymous movement of Tschaikovsky’s Orchestral Suite No. 3, the ballet, as Litton describes, corresponds to the many shifts in tone, pace, and featured instrumentation in the piece’s twelve variations. Highlighted by piano demonstrations and anecdotes from Tschaikovsky’s letters to his...

Duration:00:15:33

Episode 36.2: Hear the Dance: Prodigal Son (Part 2)

2/22/2021
The second part of our Hear the Dance exploration of Balanchine’s Prodigal Son continues, with host Silas Farley and former NYCB Principal Dancer Edward Villella looking back on Villella’s legendary career. They discuss Balanchine’s recreation of Apollo on the young dancer; the Company’s momentous tour of the Soviet Union; and the importance of School of American Ballet teacher Stanley Williams’ mentorship to Villella’s development as a dancer and as a leader in the field. Villella would go...

Duration:00:35:14

Episode 36.1: Hear the Dance: Prodigal Son (Part 1)

2/22/2021
The latest season of City Ballet The Podcast begins with this special two-part Hear the Dance celebration of George Balanchine’s Prodigal Son. Host Silas Farley is joined by former NYCB Principal Dancer and founding Artistic Director of Miami City Ballet Edward Villella, on whom Balanchine revived the role of the Prodigal Son in 1960. Villella describes his early ballet training as a child in Queens, NY before entering the School of American Ballet, often the only male dancer in his class;...

Duration:00:52:09

Episode 35: See the Music: George Balanchine's The Nutcracker®

12/21/2020
City Ballet the Podcast is back for a special edition of See the Music. Music Director Andrew Litton hosts a tour through the musical delights of the Tschaikovsky score to George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®, from the ballet’s ignominious beginnings to the composer’s felicitous discovery of the celesta—the renowned accompaniment to the Sugarplum Fairy’s introduction in Act II. Litton is joined by Concertmaster Kurt Nikkanen, who performs the lilting violin solo Balanchine borrowed from the...

Duration:00:23:43

Episode 34: New Combinations: Sidra and Dennis Bell

10/26/2020
City Ballet The Podcast’s season finale has arrived with a fresh New Combinations episode, just in time for NYCB’s first ever digital New Works Festival. In the lead up to the Festival’s premiere, host Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan is joined by Sidra Bell, choreographer of the opening night work, and her father Dennis, who composed the commissioned score to her piece. Native New Yorkers and lifelong collaborators, the Bells describe the processes behind the creation of both the...

Duration:00:27:14

Episode 33: Hear the Dance: The Steadfast Tin Soldier

10/19/2020
Host Silas Farley is back with another Hear the Dance episode, devoted to the creation of George Balanchine’s tale of toy romance, The Steadfast Tin Soldier. Farley is joined by former Principal Dancers Patricia McBride and Peter Schaufuss, on whom the ballet was created. The Steadfast Tin Soldier was the first ballet Balanchine made on Schaufuss, who danced with the Company for just three short but very formative years; this marked the second ballet for which Mr. B cast McBride as a doll,...

Duration:01:06:27

Episode 32: See the Music Live: Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet

10/12/2020
This week’s edition of City Ballet The Podcast is the premiere broadcast of a live See the Music presentation on the score to Balanchine's Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet, recorded on the NYCB stage in 2019. Host and Resident Conductor Clotilde Otrantro walks us through the innovations and themes of Brahms’ original chamber music score, and indicates some of the choices Schoenberg made in the instrumentation for full orchestra in order to maintain the music’s various sombre moods, military vibes,...

Duration:00:13:32

Episode 31.2: Hear the Dance: Red Angels (Part 2)

10/5/2020
In this second half of a special 2-part Hear the Dance episode celebrating the life and work of late choreographer Ulysses Dove, host Silas Farley interviews Ulysses’ brother Alfred, Director and Administrator of Ulysses’ estate. Beginning with his childhood in South Carolina and Georgia, Dove traces his brother’s transition from a talented pre-med student at Howard University to a dancer with the Merce Cunningham Company, to his first works as a choreographer commissioned by Alvin Ailey....

Duration:00:46:48

Episode 31.1: Hear the Dance: Red Angels (Part 1)

10/5/2020
Former NYCB dancer Silas Farley is back to host a special 2-part episode of Hear the Dance devoted to the life and work of late choreographer Ulysses Dove. Beginning with a brief overview of Dove’s career, this part focuses on Red Angels, the first of two works he choreographed on NYCB. Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan, Pacific Northwest Ballet Artistic Director Peter Boal, and violinist Mary Rowell, all of whom performed in the ballet’s 1994 premiere, reunite to discuss Dove’s...

Duration:00:45:20

Episode 30: See the Music: Revisiting Symphony in C

9/28/2020
City Ballet the Podcast is back with a new season of deep dives into the history and artistry of New York City Ballet. We begin by revisiting our very first See the Music episode to celebrate the premiere of the Digital Fall Season—and the All Balanchine program. NYCB’s Music Director Andrew Litton delves into the background of Bizet’s Symphony in C, a hidden treasure that, 80 years after its creation, found a new popularity with the help of George Balanchine. Litton also sits down with NYCB...

Duration:00:26:12

Episode 29: The Rosin Box: Ask the Dancer

6/22/2020
Hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Aarón Sanz wrap up this season of City Ballet The Podcast with their last episode of The Rosin Box, responding to a selection of questions submitted by NYCB Instagram followers. Along with Claire and Aarón, NYCB dancers Jared Angle, Teresa Reichlen, Lauren King, Meaghan Dutton-O’Hara, and Mary Elizabeth Sell answer: what do you like about the Balanchine style, and what are your funniest dance memories? Why did you choose NYCB? Tune in for their responses to these...

Duration:00:39:19

Episode 28: The Rosin Box: Injuries, Wellness and Fitness

6/15/2020
In this week’s Rosin Box episode, hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Aarón Sanz discuss injuries, wellness, and fitness—three important, intertwined aspects of a dancer’s development and ongoing practice. They are joined by NYCB’s Health and Wellness Coordinator, Marika Molnar, PT, LAC, who helped create the first physical therapy program for an American dance company in 1980, with George Balanchine’s support; and Physical Therapist Dirk Hartog, DPT, whose essential cross-training classes continue...

Duration:00:47:32

Episode 27: The Rosin Box: Touring

6/1/2020
Hosts Claire Kretzschmar and Aarón Sanz are back for another season of The Rosin Box, recorded remotely but with all the exclusive behind-the-scenes access intact. This week, NYCB dancers and longtime roommates Marika Anderson and Daniel Applebaum join the discussion, on touring: adjusting to new stages, packing performance necessities (and souvenirs), and the pleasures—and perils—of exploring new cuisines. Plus, Claire and Aarón answer a question submitted over NYCB's Instagram: What’s your...

Duration:00:35:30

Episode 26: New Combinations: Pam Tanowitz & Justin Peck

5/25/2020
This week’s New Combinations episode of City Ballet The Podcast features two recordings of Inside NYCB presentations made at Lincoln Center. The first is a conversation between choreographer Pam Tanowitz and NYCB Ballet Master Craig Hall, just two days after the 2019 premiere of her Bartók Ballet; Tanowitz describes her collaborative approach to the rehearsal studio, sharing that she’ll warn dancers, “If you don’t want to do something, don’t show me, because I’ll love it.” Resident...

Duration:00:19:11

Episode 25.2: Hear the Dance: Diamonds (Part 2)

5/18/2020
In the second half of our two-part Hear the Dance on Balanchine’s Diamonds, host Silas Farley is joined by Principal Dancer Sara Mearns, who has performed the lead role for over 12 years with seven different partners—for seven very different experiences. Mearns takes us through a detailed play-by-play of dancing this regal, demanding movement from Jewels, from the slow opening, which allows her to warm up, to the physically challenging dancing to come, and through to the triumphant,...

Duration:00:36:14

Episode 25.1: Hear the Dance: Diamonds (Part 1)

5/18/2020
The newest episode of Hear the Dance is a special two-part discussion of Diamonds, the glittering final movement of Balanchine's Jewels, from the perspective of the lead ballerina. In this first installment, host Silas Farley interviews iconic former Principal Dancer Merrill Ashley, who recalls learning the corps role in her first season as a member of the Company, and the many factors that aligned in her eventually making her debut in the lead role. Now, as a répéteur with the Balanchine...

Duration:00:36:32

Episode 24: Hear the Dance: Afternoon of a Faun

5/11/2020
“This is a hot summer day, in a studio, in New York City.” So former NYCB dancer Dr. Afshin Mofid recalls Jerome Robbins’ description of the setting and mood of his Afternoon of a Faun, an innocently sensual pas de deux that premiered on NYCB’s stage in 1953. In this installment of Hear the Dance, hosted by Silas Farley, Mofid joins former NYCB Principal Dancer Kay Mazzo to share their memories of rehearsing with Robbins and performing Faun, a formative ballet for both of their careers....

Duration:00:50:26

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